wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “footer”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “footer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Header Footer Builder for Elementor shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #2 3

Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) not PHP-current wp.org #3 4

Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too high 9

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10

Header and Footer Scripts 200K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12

Change Storefront Footer Copyright Text 3K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #11 1 too high 13

FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15

AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #12 3 too high 16

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #23 7 too low 17

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too low 18

Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓3 11 too high 19

Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Header Footer Script Adder 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Speed Up – JavaScript To Footer 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22

CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Footer Copyright 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

Header Footer Custom Html 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #21 3 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.